Dogsitter complaining about normal dog behaviour

No T&C's? So presumably no contract? This woman is a walking red flag 🚩

Sickness - yes. All sorts of behaviour - absolutely not.

I am a dog boarder (licenced & insured), and I have banned a fair few dogs from coming back, due to appalling behaviour, such as :

Peeing inside
Pooing inside
Snapping at other dogs
Howling at night (for no reason)
Chewing beds up
Biting me
Crying all day long (for no reason)
Pacing all day long

Some dogs are a nightmare. This is why I do a one night trial before they stay for an extended period. There is no reason to tolerate a badly behaved dog, when there are plenty of perfect dogs ready to take their place. As it is, my diary is full all year with fantastic dogs, who never put a foot (paw) wrong.

A dog behaviourist told me recently, that the breed they are having the most problems with is Cockapoo's.

I'm not surprised that this boarder increased prices at Christmas. If you are going to do it, the end of the year is the best time. However, she should have sent a message to anyone booked in, to say that with effect from 1/1/24 the new price for boarding will be £x.

I would cancel the dates you have in with her. She doesn't seem to like your dog, and she will probably be pleased you've cancelled. Having said that, you might struggle to find someone else, as places are very, very limited.

You should always check whether someone is licenced and insured. They should have the licence displayed inside their house.

Just be careful. Any insurance you have probably won’t pay out if you’re not licensed.

And please make sure everyone who uses you knows that.

@Floofydawg

when is it you're next booked in?

what do her T& C say re cancellation??

id consider the overcharge as an amount towards any penalty fee of a cancellation.

play the CF at her own game

@Floofydawg

Theres no need to remove grass if you don't want to, but IMO you should be able to safely remove anything from your dogs mouth without it snapping or biting. However, I wouldn't surprised if a dog I was sitting snapped at me. Theres not the same level of trust, unless you've sat them a lot.

she does sound unbalanced though. I mean telling you not to bother with his bed as he sleeps with her, then complaining you've not taken his bed.

i wouldn't have paid her the extra, I'd have just said 'no you did not, so here's the money (original amount).

There's no way my dog would be going back there. Not a hope I'd trust her.

Honestly, I've checked, and doubly so since someone round my way got the hump about me having extra money and buying nice stuff and reported me to the council!!

@apostrophewoman please check with your council - many require all boarders to be licensed regardless of earnings.

The Rover “guarantee” is also notoriously awful and often won’t pay out if you’re not following legal requirements.

She sounds like she doesn't understand dog behaviour and only wants the sweet cuddly ones, as opposed to any sickies! I started boarding dogs in school holidays and at weekends through Rover a year ago after my dog died, and have had a lot of different breeds through my doors, and the poo mixes have always been lovely! Sometimes dogs are sick, sometimes they shit on my carpet, it comes with the enjoyment of having dogs. I also let dogs sleep on my bed if owners are happy, a lot of dogs are a bit nervous away from their usual routine of crate in the kitchen/sleeping downstairs, etc, and I'm there to make them happy, so it's not an issue for me.

Rover has a 5 star review system in place, and so you can see the reviews for boarders and take your pick from them.
As an aside, boarders are insured through Rover because we pay them a percentage of our earnings, and you don't need to be licensed through the council if you earn less than £1k a year for boarding.

Hope you find someone who looks after your dog better. If she's not happy with the sick and has been snapped at, chances are she's not been that kind to your dog.

Cancel her, she sounds mad. Find someone who will look after your dog as you do.

Not the point of the thread, but she's a boarder, not a sitter. Sitters stay in your home with your dog. With a boarder, the dog boards in the person's home.

Boarders do have to be licensed by the local council, and there should be a list of licensed boarders so you could find someone you like better.

Or consider a dog sitter - I do this and honestly it is so much less stressful for the dog to have their routine and normal bed and toys etc. Most sitters are not much more expensive than boarding per night.

I had an arsehole dog who did arsehole things. The lady he stayed with could never say enough nice things about him. Even when he'd been a total knobdog she'd tell me and follow it up with all the lovely things about him.

She's nuts but he loved her and that was good enough for me.

Find a new dog sitter. If I could find one who loved mine you can definitely find someone to love your well behaved woofer!

Definitely find another sitter. Be firm that he does prefer to sleep in his bed that's his routine. He was obviously eating grass because he had an upset tummy from his medication poor boy. She sounds like a flake. In reference to the snapping, with what you've said it could be the way she was trying to take the grass from his mouth and was rough.

She wanted the dog not eating grass because the dog keeps being sick.

So use a "drop" command, or a "leave it" command, or ask the owner if the dog eating grass is any kind of a problem - don't just shove your hand in the dogs' mouth and expect it not to react

Eating grass is hardly a life or death situation and if the dog has always been allowed to eat it before, it's hardly surprising it snapped.

Cleaning up a bit of sick or regurgitated grass is much more pleasant than dealing with the aftermath of a dog bite.

She sounds crap at her job.
She shouldn’t really be sleeping with your dog (😂) it could come back and expect to be getting in your bed!
I would cancel the future booking and find another person that other people have spoken highly of. She sounds slightly nuts and your dog probably picks up on the sense that she doesn’t like it.

She wanted the dog not eating grass because the dog keeps being sick. There’s plenty of reason that someone may need to take something out of a dogs mouth. The snapping is a big issue l, but specially when leaving the dog in other people’s care.

I think her having a dog sleep on her bed is daft, especially when it’s not her dog.

I have a rescue poodle cross. I appreciate you feel her ‘like a Rottweiler’ was dramatic. But plenty of poodle crosses can be very aggressive. And they are notorious for behavioural issues. I wouldn’t have another.

I think she isn’t the right dog sitter for you. But I suspect this is a bit of both sides.

But whatever the reason, she isn’t the dog sitter for you and your dog so cancel and find someone else.

Your approach to it all, from the beginning, sounds a bit lax. Why did you send him to her in the first place when you know she's not licensed? If she's not registered, she's not insured and you have absolutely no protection should anything awful happen. That should have been your priority. Find a list of "proper" dog sitters, then find one you like. The dog world seems to have more than its fare share of nutters, unfortunately. The proliferation of dog walkers, dog sitters and (god help us) "trainers" after lockdown was staggering. Liking dogs is not enough of a reason to do any of these jobs.

What research told you it would be a good idea to leave your dog with someone who was operating illegally and without insurance?

Cleaning up a bit of sick is far more preferable than cleaning up after a dog bite, which is what she was risking by shoving her hand in its’ mouth.

But as OP says this person isn’t even operating legally, it’s not really surprising that she doesn’t know what she’s doing.

A valuable lesson in doing your research properly and making sure your boarder is appropriately licensed and qualified.

I guess she wanted to remove the grass because the dig had already been sick twice and grass can make them sick again, especially if they are already a bit sensitive.

The snapping isn’t OK or expected dog behaviour even though it does happen so definitely work on that. The other issues seems to be on her and not the dog.

Just a note on Rover, if your dog is going to stay with someone else in their home, please make sure they're licensed and insured by the local council.

Rover doesn't run any checks of their own and their "guarantee" only covers people operating legally.

Try Rover. We have a lovely sitter for our dog, great service and never any issues.

If she's willing to dog sit, she should be willing to put up with all sorts of dog behaviour and sickness without it being an inconvenience to her. She is doing a job, and I know these sitters are not cheap. I guess just ask yourself if you would feel comfortable and happy leaving your dog there again. If no then find someone else.

I wouldn’t leave my lovely old dog with her. Sounds like a real weirdo.

I use a couple of girls through Rover & they house sit too.